Horsham Council Race Still Up In The Air

Update: 2:40 p.m. Monday

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —Eleven votes separate two candidates vying for a Horsham Council seat in unofficial results from the Nov. 7 general election.

While the 2023 Montgomery County election results were originally expected to become official last Wednesday, residents will now have to wait for the outcome of the race between Council President Mark McCouch and Democratic challenger Ellen Zschunke.

Montgomery County delayed certifying the official 2023 election results following a federal court ruling last week mandating the tabulation of mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates.

In Montgomery County, 349 ballots were impacted in this manner.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections updated voting tallies in the race on Monday afternoon,

McCouch had led Zschunke following the Nov. 7 general election by 22 votes, garnering 3,977 votes to 3,955 for Zschunke with 100 percent of Montgomery County's 426 precincts reporting in unofficial results.

But the candidates changed places once the Montgomery Board of Elections counted military and overseas ballots, which can come in a week after Election Day.

That unofficial tally led to Zschunke, 42, leading McCouch by 11 votes with 4,010 votes to 3,999 for McCouch, 63, a Republican who has served on the council for 20 years.

It is unknown how many ballots that Montgomery County must count pertain to the Horsham Township Council race.

The election certification begins with final canvassing at 10 a.m. Monday at the Montgomery County Voters Services Warehouse in Norristown. Certification will take place five days after the final tabulation.

Democratic newcomer Samatha Slaff topped the four candidates with 4,106 votes in winning a council seat while Republican challenger Stephen VanHorn finished fourth with 3,849 votes.

Slaff and Zschunke received more than 1,500 mail-in votes, triple the amount that McCouch and VanHorn had garnered during the general election.